By Dustin Cabeal

You couldn't pay me to read Occultic;Nice. I would gladly read Grimgar though. Actually, both anime series made my end of the year list. Grimgar made the "Best of 2016" list, while Occultic;Nice made the other one... Also I tried the light novels and I'm not a fan. Power to anyone that can get through them with enjoyment.

Press Release

Seven Seas Entertainment and J-Novel Club are pleased to announce a new partnership in the publication of select Japanese light novel series.

Launched in October 2016, J-Novel Club is a digital subscription platform providing the official English translations for some of today's most beloved Japanese light novels. After their digital release, Seven Seas Entertainment will publish select print editions, and make them available for purchase through the same distribution channels as Seven Seas' ever-growing library of manga and novels.

The first two such light novel series to be brought to print by Seven Seas will be Ao Jyumonji's Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, and Chiyomaru Shikura's Occultic;Nine, both currently available in digital format from J-Novel Club.

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

Story by Ao Jyumonji | Art by Eiri Shirai

Haruhiro awakens to darkness and amnesia, among a group of strangers who can only remember their own names...and nothing else. When they make it into the light, they discover Grimgar—a fantasy world that’s like something out of an RPG game. Without apparent skills or knowledge of their surroundings, Haruhiro and his newfound friends band together to form an adventuring party. Only by cooperating, using their wits, and learning new skills can they hope to survive in this dangerous land of monsters and magic.

Occultic;Nine

Story by Chiyomaru Shikura | Art by pako

What happens when eight eccentrics cross paths on a paranormal blog run by a high school NEET? A whole lot of weird! Gamon Yuta runs an occult-related site he hopes will one day make him rich. But before his dreams can come true, strange things occur when the lives of these nine oddballs collide. Can they solve a case that transcends reality and could alter the very fabric of our world?

“Seven Seas was one of the earliest adopters of light novels in North America, and although the category didn’t quite take off at the time, we are now seeing a steady growth in readership,” says Seven Seas publisher Jason DeAngelis. “There are so many fantastic series out there, and in working with J-Novel Club, we can combine our core strengths to give light novels a high-quality treatment along with broad book channel distribution.”

“I saw the ever-growing demand for more releases of light novels in the fan communities, and realized that a new business model was needed to really take official releases to another level of quality and speed,” said J-Novel Club founder and president Sam Pinansky. “Seven Seas has a long pedigree of publishing high-quality manga and light novels, and through their partnership to print and distribute physical editions of our most popular series we hope to reach the largest audience we can, in every way that people want to read.”

Seven Seas Entertainment will publish the first volume of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash on June 6, 2017. Occultic;Nine volume 1 will follow on July 4, 2017. Both series will be printed at a large trim size and priced at 13.99/US and 15.99/CAN.